TWI709190B - Structure and exposure method applied to exposure machine - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention is a structure applied to an exposure machine and an exposure method thereof. It takes a positioning device, wherein the positioning device includes a base and a cover. The cover has a first opening and a carrier sheet is placed on A sheet to be exposed is placed between the base and the cover and on the carrier sheet, and the first opening corresponds to the sheet to be exposed. The area of the sheet to be exposed is set to be equivalent to the area of the first opening. The carrier sheet with the sheet to be exposed undergoes an exposure process.

Description

Structure and exposure method applied to exposure machine

The present invention relates to a structure and its method, especially a structure applied to an exposure machine and its exposure method.

In modern technology, the exposure machine is a key device for manufacturing micro-electromechanical, optoelectronic, and diode large-scale integrated circuits. Among them, the exposure machine can be divided into the following types, namely contact aligner, electron beam Direct writing system (e-beam writer) and a stepper or scanner exposure machine that uses a projector-like principle to obtain exposure patterns.

The new blue ocean in the semiconductor industry is mainly to apply special and diverse materials to different components to develop different products. Therefore, components need to be developed and tested at a faster speed. However, these special materials can only be used in specific initial stages. The machine is grown from small fragments, so the production of subsequent components can only be completed in the form of fragments.

At present, the exposure methods for the production of fragmented components are mainly exposed by exposure machines such as contact exposure machines or electron beam direct writing systems. Among them, the photomask and the contact exposure machine with the same wafer size are used for exposure. It will be close to the wafer, so it is only suitable for pattern exposure operations with a resolution greater than a few microns. Therefore, the exposure resolution and alignment of this type of exposure machine are poor.

And another electron beam direct writing system exposure method is to use a special electromagnetic lens to directly focus the electron beam on the silicon wafer photoresist for the required pattern writing. This technology can reduce the line width of the integrated circuit (IC) Shrink to below 100nm, but the electron beam must be written one by one, so the exposure must take a long time, usually only a few hours can be exposed.

The stepper or scanning exposure machine uses a zooming method for exposure, so the mask pattern used in this method is larger than the pattern after exposure, so the production cost is lower, and the pattern after exposure has excellent exposure In addition, the photomask of the stepper exposure machine does not directly contact the wafer during exposure, which can prolong the service life of the photomask and the cost of manufacturing the photomask is lower, and this exposure method can reduce the particles on the photomask To improve the tolerance of particles during exposure.

Although stepper or scanner exposure machines have better resolution and alignment errors than contact exposure machines, and have an exposure speed hundreds of times faster than electron beam lithography systems, the traditional stepper Or scanning exposure machines are slightly more expensive than contact exposure machines and electron beam lithography direct writing systems, and traditional stepping or scanning exposure machines can only be used for single-size wafer exposure, and can no longer be used for other wafer sizes And other materials.

The inventor of the present invention uses a positioning and carrying device to make the exposure machine use this positioning and carrying device. The exposure machine can be applied to various sizes of fragments or wafers, and the exposure machine can also be applied to the exposure of various materials, and this positioning The cost of the carrying device is low, and the exposure function of the stepper exposure machine can be expanded in multiple sizes. It is a highly applicable and versatile exposure device.

Based on the above content, it can be known that the present invention has developed an exposure technology with high resolution, high productivity and high positioning, which not only solves the shortcomings of the contact exposure machine and the electron beam direct writing system exposure method, but also uses a hybrid (hybrid) The exposure method connects these two types of machines to improve the efficiency and diversity of exposure.

One object of the present invention is to provide a positioning and carrying device that can be used in an exposure machine. Through the positioning and carrying device, the exposure machine can be used for exposing wafers of different materials, sizes and shapes, and expanding The exposure function of the exposure machine is actually a highly applicable and versatile exposure device.

In view of the above objective, the present invention provides an exposure method of an exposure system, which takes a positioning device, which includes a base and a cover, a carrier sheet is placed between the base and the cover, and is placed on the carrier A sheet to be exposed is placed on the sheet, and the cover is provided with a first opening whose area corresponds to the sheet to be exposed. The carrier sheet with the sheet to be exposed is placed in an exposure machine for an exposure process.

The present invention provides an embodiment, wherein the to-be-exposed film includes a to-be-exposed area and an unexposed area.

The present invention provides an embodiment, wherein the cover has a plurality of positioning elements located on one side of the first opening, and the positioning elements are used to position the exposure sheet.

The present invention provides an embodiment, in which, before the step of exposing the sheet to be exposed, the step includes placing the carrier sheet with the sheet to be exposed on an exposure carrier.

The present invention provides an embodiment, wherein the element to be exposed is selected from one of wafer fragments, ceramic wafers, III-V compounds or transparent substrates.

In view of the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a structure of an exposure system, the structure includes a positioning device, which includes a base and a cover, the cover has a first opening; and a carrier sheet, which is arranged on the base Between the cover and the cover, it carries a sheet to be exposed; wherein the cover is provided with a first opening whose area corresponds to the sheet to be exposed.

The present invention provides an embodiment, wherein the base further includes an accommodating space.

The present invention provides an embodiment, wherein the cover has a plurality of positioning elements located on one side of the first opening, and the exposure sheet is fixed by the positioning elements.

The present invention provides an embodiment, wherein the manufacturing material of the base and the cover is selected from one of aluminum alloy, iron alloy or stainless steel.

The present invention provides an embodiment in which the element to be exposed is selected from the group consisting of a broken wafer, a ceramic wafer, a III-V compound or a transparent substrate.

In order to enable your reviewer to have a better understanding and understanding of the features of the present invention and the effects achieved, a preferred embodiment and detailed description are provided. The description is as follows:

Hereinafter, various embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail through the use of drawings. However, the concept of the present invention may be embodied in many different forms, and should not be construed as being limited to the exemplary embodiments described herein.

In the past, the traditional exposure methods for exposing broken elements were mainly exposed by exposure systems such as contact exposure machines or electron beam direct writing systems, while the photomask of the contact exposure machine was close to the wafer during the exposure process, and this This method can only use mask patterns with a resolution of more than a few microns, so the service life of this method is shorter and the resolution is poor. Although the electron beam direct writing system has better resolution, its exposure speed is poor .

The present invention improves a positioning and carrying device of the exposure machine. The positioning and carrying device requires a lower cost, and allows the exposure machine to pass through the positioning and carrying device, breaking the limitation of a single machine of the traditional exposure machine using a single size of exposed wafer, and exposing The machine is used for the exposure of fragments or wafers of different sizes and shapes. This exposure machine is also used for exposure of various materials, providing users with another choice of exposure methods.

First of all, please refer to Figure 1A, which is a schematic flow diagram of an exposure method applied to an exposure machine according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and please also refer to Figure 1B, which is an application of a preferred embodiment of the present invention The step flow chart of the exposure method in the exposure machine, the steps include: Step S10: Take the positioning device, which includes a base and a cover; Step S20: Place a carrier sheet between the base and the cover, and place the sheet to be exposed on the carrier sheet. The cover system is set corresponding to the area of the sheet to be exposed and equal to the area of the first opening; Step S30: Place the carrier sheet with the sheet to be exposed in the exposure carrier; and Step S40: Place the exposure carrier in the exposure machine to perform an exposure procedure.

In step S10 to step S20, as shown in Figure 1B, which is a flow chart of an exposure method applied to an exposure machine of the present invention, first take a positioning device 10, wherein the positioning device 10 includes a base 12 and a Cover 14, a carrier sheet 20 is placed between the base 12 and the cover 14, and a sheet 22 to be exposed is placed above the carrier sheet 20, and the cover 14 corresponds to the sheet to be exposed The area of 22 is set, and is equivalent to the area of a first opening 142.

Wherein, the first opening 142 corresponds to the sheet 22 to be exposed, and the area of the first opening 142 is equivalent to the area of the sheet 22 to be exposed, and the area size ranges from 10mm x 10mm to 150mm x 150mm. In addition, the sheet to be exposed The size of is limited to 0.5 inches or more, and the to-be-exposed sheet 22 includes a to-be-exposed area 222 and an unexposed area 224.

Then, in step S30 to step S40, as shown in Figure 1B, the carrier sheet 20 with the sheet to be exposed 22 is placed in an exposure carrier 30, and then placed on an exposure machine 40 for an exposure process. The inventor can obtain the exposed components through the exposure process.

To put it simply, in the modern commonly used lithography technology, a photoresist is applied on the substrate, and the photomask is irradiated through a light source to develop the photomask pattern on the substrate. This is the exposure process.

The present invention improves the disadvantage that the traditional exposure machine can only expose 6-inch and 8-inch wafers. First, the carrier sheet 20 is placed on the base 12 of the positioning device 10, and the base 12 may also include an accommodation space. 122 is used to accommodate the carrier sheet 20 so that it can be fixed on the base 12, and then take the cover 14 to cover the base 12, and after the exposure sheet 22 is placed and fixed on the carrier sheet 20, remove the carrier The sheet 20 contains the sheet 22 to be exposed. After being placed on the exposure carrier 30 (usually an exposure boat), it is placed in the exposure machine 40 for exposure. The present invention uses the conventional exposure machine through the positioning device 10 to make it possible It is used for exposing small chips. The smallest wafer size that can be used is 0.5 inches. The positioning device 10 uses the first opening 142 to enable the exposure machine 40 to quickly position the sheet 22 to be exposed, wherein the carrier sheet 20 The positioning method with the sheet to be exposed 22 is to precisely align the cover 14 and the carrier sheet 20 of the positioning device 10 on the base 12, so that when the carrier sheet 20 is placed on the carrier carrier 30, It can be directly aligned and exposed, and the exposure cannot be exposed because of different exposure films.

However, when the exposure process is performed without the alignment error adjustment compensation value, the exposure error is less than 0.5um, and if the error adjustment compensation value is performed, the error is less than 100nm. This device improves the accuracy of the exposure process.

In addition, when the wavelength of the aforementioned exposure light source is 365nm, the process resolution can reach 350nm. If the wavelength of the exposure light source is 248nm or 193nm, the process resolution can reach below 150nm. The exposure system can be improved by using different light sources. Process resolution.

This invention can be used not only for exposure of traditional wafers (6 inches, 8 inches, etc.), but also for various substrates, such as Si or Ge semiconductors, compound semiconductors, ceramic wafers, glass substrates, and special materials. (Such as: MoS2 two-dimensional material) production of components.

Following the above, please refer to Figure 2, which is a schematic diagram of the device structure of the exposure structure of a preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 2, the exposure system includes a positioning device 10, a carrier sheet 20, and an exposure device. Carrier 30 and an exposure machine 40.

The positioning device 10 includes a base 12 and a cover 14. The cover 14 has a first opening 142. The supporting sheet 20 is disposed between the base 12 and the cover 14 and above the supporting sheet 20 The sheet 22 to be exposed is provided, and one side of the first opening 142 described above may further include a plurality of positioning elements 144. The positioning elements 144 can be displaced. After the sheet 22 to be exposed is fixed, the first opening 142 will Vacuum tapes are arranged at the four corners of the sheet 22 to be exposed to fix the sheet 22 to be exposed above the carrier sheet 20.

And the carrier sheet 20 can be equipped with a fixing plate 16 through a pair of openings 124 to fix the position of the carrier sheet 20, so that when the carrier sheet 20 is repeatedly loaded, the position of the carrier sheet 20 is the same; After the process of the sheet 22 to be exposed is completed, the carrier sheet 20 can be taken out with a tool through a take-out opening 126.

Wherein, the base 12 may further include an accommodating space 122, and the material of the base 12 and the cover 14 is selected from one of aluminum alloy, iron alloy or stainless steel.

Continuing the above, please refer to Figure 4, which is a schematic cross-sectional view of the exposure structure of a preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the carrier sheet 20 is placed above the base 12 and then placed on the The supporting sheet 20 is provided with the to-be-exposed sheet 22, the cover 14 covers the supporting sheet 20, the first opening 142 is disposed opposite to the to-be-exposed sheet 22, and after the setting is completed, the accommodating space 122 of the base 12 is penetrated On one side of the take-out port 126, take out the carrier sheet 20 containing the sheet 22 to be exposed, place the carrier sheet 20 in the exposure carrier 30, and place the carrier sheet 20 in the exposure machine 40 for the exposure process. Figure 4 clearly shows The relative size between the first opening 142 and the sheet 22 to be exposed. In the present invention, the size of the first opening 142 is at least 10mm x 10mm and can be as large as 150mm x 150mm. The sheet 22 to be exposed is opposite It should be within the size range of the first opening 142.

In addition, please refer to Figure 3, which is a schematic diagram of the device structure of the exposure structure of a preferred embodiment of the present invention. If the size of the carrier sheet 20 is 8 inches, there is a carrier sheet recess 24 above the carrier sheet , And a fixing point 128 is provided on one side of the accommodating space 122 of the base 12, and the supporting sheet recess 24 is provided through the fixing point 128 to fix the position of the supporting sheet 20.

Next, please refer to FIG. 5, which is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of a device to be exposed according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the sheet 22 to be exposed includes a region to be exposed 222 and an unexposed region 224. The to-be-exposed area 222 and the unexposed area 224 are separated by using a mask pattern 226, where the to-be-exposed area 222 and the unexposed area 224 will form a pattern 228 after the exposure process, which is used The exposure process of the positive photoresist can be used for the subsequent etching process. If the negative photoresist (photocuring) is used for exposure, the to-be-exposed area 222 and the unexposed area 224 appear in reverse.

As shown in Figure 2, the positioning device 10 can be used to carry the present invention in a short time to produce a plurality of the carrier sheets 20 with the sheet to be exposed 22, and the carrier sheet 20 is placed on the exposure carrier 30 ( Usually after exposure wafer boat), the carrier 30 is placed in an exposure machine 40 to perform an exposure process. The exposure machine used can be either an electron beam direct writing system or a stepping exposure machine. One of them or one of any combination thereof, the preferred embodiment of the exposure machine used in the present invention is a stepping exposure machine, but it is not limited thereto.

In the above-mentioned embodiments, the method of the present invention is a positioning and carrying device which can be used in an exposure machine. Through the positioning and carrying device, the exposure machine can be applied to crystals of various materials, sizes and shapes. The circle exposure and the extended exposure function of the exposure machine are indeed a highly applicable and diverse exposure structure.

However, the above are only the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and are not used to limit the scope of implementation of the present invention. For example, the shapes, structures, features and spirits described in the scope of the patent application of the present invention are equally changed and modified. , Should be included in the scope of patent application of the present invention.

10: Positioning device

12: Base

122: housing space

124: Counterpoint

126: Take Out

128: fixed point

14: Lid

142: The first opening

144: Positioning components

16: fixed pressure plate

20: Carrier sheet

22: Film to be exposed

24: Carrier sheet notch

222: Area to be exposed

224: unexposed area

226: Mask pattern

228: Pattern

30: Exposure Vehicle

40: Exposure machine

S10: Take the positioning device, which includes the base and the cover

S20: Place a carrier sheet between the base and the cover, and place the sheet to be exposed on the carrier sheet, the cover system is set corresponding to the area of the sheet to be exposed and equal to the area of the first opening

S30: Place the carrier sheet with the sheet to be exposed in the exposure carrier

S40: Place the exposure vehicle in the exposure machine for exposure procedures

Figure 1A: It is a schematic flow diagram of an exposure method applied to an exposure machine according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; Figure 1B: It is a flowchart of the steps of an exposure method applied to an exposure machine according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2: It is a schematic diagram of the device structure of the exposure structure of a preferred embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3: It is a schematic diagram of the device structure of the exposure structure of a preferred embodiment of the present invention Figure 4: It is a schematic cross-sectional view of the exposure structure of a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and Fig. 5: It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of an element to be exposed according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

S10: Take the positioning device, which includes the base and the cover

S20: Place the carrier sheet between the base and the cover, and place the sheet to be exposed on the carrier sheet, the cover system is set corresponding to the area of the area to be exposed and equal to the area of the first opening

S30: Place the carrier sheet with the sheet to be exposed in the exposure carrier

S40: Place the exposure vehicle in the exposure machine for exposure procedures

Claims (10)

An exposure method applied to an exposure machine. The steps include: taking a positioning device, which includes a base and a cover, the cover having a first opening; and placing a carrier sheet between the base and the cover A sheet to be exposed is placed on the carrier sheet to fix the sheet to be exposed on the positioning device by the cover. The cover corresponds to the area of the sheet to be exposed and the area of the sheet to be exposed Equivalent to the area of the first opening; and placing the carrier sheet with the sheet to be exposed in an exposure machine for an exposure process. The exposure method applied to an exposure machine as described in item 1 of the scope of application, wherein the to-be-exposed film includes a to-be-exposed area and an unexposed area. The exposure method applied to an exposure machine as described in the first item of the scope of patent application, wherein the cover has a plurality of positioning elements located on one side of the first opening, and the positioning elements are used to fix the exposure sheet. The exposure method applied to an exposure machine as described in item 1 of the scope of patent application, wherein before the step of exposing the sheet to be exposed, it includes a step of placing the carrier sheet with the sheet to be exposed in an exposure vehicle. The exposure method applied to an exposure machine as described in item 1 of the scope of patent application, wherein the element to be exposed is selected from wafers One of fragments, ceramic wafers, III-V compounds or transparent substrates. An exposure structure, which is set in an exposure machine, and the structure includes: a positioning device, which includes a base and a cover, the cover has a first opening; and a carrier sheet, which is set on the base Between the cover and the cover, it carries a sheet to be exposed; wherein, the cover system covers the base corresponding to the area of the sheet to be exposed and fixes the carrier sheet, the area of the sheet to be exposed is equivalent to the area of the first opening area. According to the exposure structure described in item 6 of the scope of application, the base further includes an accommodation space. According to the exposure structure described in item 6 of the scope of patent application, the cover further includes a plurality of positioning elements located on one side of the first opening, and the exposure sheet is fixed by the positioning elements. According to the exposure structure described in item 6 of the scope of patent application, the material of the base and the cover is selected from one of aluminum alloy, iron alloy or stainless steel. According to the exposure structure described in item 6 of the scope of patent application, the element to be exposed is selected from one of wafer fragments, ceramic wafers, III-V compounds or transparent substrates.

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